The Ranger's Apprentice
by Callianluv98
Summary: A different version of John Flanagan's book, The Ranger's Apprentice. I used some of the events but all my characters are original.
1. Prologue

Prologue

As King Aceda looked over to the lush trees and landscaping, he became overcome with anger and jealousy. He looked away from the Elvin land and back to his own. It was a desert wasteland with a few shrubs scattered in front of his village and towering castle. As he kicked his horse toward his castle, he seethed, remembering his loss for the Elvin land.

He had gathered all of his army and all of his villagers to mount an attack on the Elvin city of Haladίr. Secretly, he had planned his attack for months, waiting for his scouts to come back to tell him it was time to attack. But he had not counted for a group of meddlers known as the Rangers, they led a force of cavalry behind army at a secret river in the forest and, at the crucial point in the battle, attacked. The men he had kept at the rear were the most untrained he had. He had wanted to make a harsh appearance and make the elves think that all of his men were as battle hardened as the ones he had put up front. The farmers could never have stood up to such a surprise cavalry attack. The army broke retreating to their villages and barring their doors. Aceda, his army defeated, had no choice but to follow them. And so he had waited for fifteen years, waiting, plotting, and hating the elves.

'Now' he thought, 'it was time for revenge'. His spies told him that the land and its people had grown slack and complacent. The name Aceda was a name of legend, a name mothers' use to hush mischievous children, threatening them that if they did not behave, the ghastly human lord Aceda would come for them.

The time was ripe.

This time he would not fail.

The time was ripe for revenge.


	2. The Test

The Test

"Willow, come on down. Dinner's ready."

Her mother called up the tree and gestured to the pot on the fire.

"Coming!" Willow called as she began her descent and in a matter seconds, dusting off her robe.

"I made your favorite but if you're too nervous to eat I understand." Her mother told her. "After all tomorrow is a big day."

Tomorrow was a big day. It would probably be the biggest day of her entire life because it would determine how she would spend the rest of her life. Tomorrow was Apprenticeship Day.

As she spooned out some vegetable soup into her bowl she voiced a question she had been wondering about. "Mom, you know how you were chosen to be a diplomat in Lady Sarafina's service? Well, what was dad?"

The atmosphere around the table in their sod house changed from merry to subdued.

"Oh honey, you know I don't know much about your father. He was sweet and kind and so handsome but I don't know much about his background. He died in the war and that's all you need to know. You just sort of appeared." Her mother looked unhappy as she told Willow this.

"Ok thanks for dinner it was great." Willow pushed back her chair and went outside. It was dark except for the full moon and stars. Willow walked over to the huge oak and climbed up, heights held no fear for her. As she settled herself conveniently into a fork in the tree, she looked towards the sea. She could sometimes get a glimpse of the party lights in the Queen's castle. After a while she gave up trying to find them and went back inside. Her mother was already asleep, Willow sighed as she blew out the candle and she went to bed.

*******

"Are your nerves getting the better of you? Huh, Willow?" a bigger, older girl named Chryse seemed to enjoy bullying the other kids in their group.

"Less chatter over there, young lady." Their elder guide said to Chryse. The older girl bowed her head, knowing enough to respect the elder.

They were less than five minutes from the Queen's castle and Willow couldn't help but be nervous. Her mother had wished her luck this morning and Willow promised that whoever chose her, she would make them and her mother proud.

As they reached the Queens crystal palace the guard looked at the guide and nodded before opening the gates. Minutes later they found themselves in the Queen's study. Then the test began, first their guide lined them up by age then sent everyone but the eldest into the hall where they whispered amongst themselves until their name was called. After the first three or four went into the study, they realized that whoever went in did not come back out the same way. Then suddenly, "Willow?"

She stood and walked in, behind a long desk sat five elves.

"You are Willow Earthenborn?" A proud, haughty-looking lady asked looking down at Willow from behind her horn rimmed glasses. "Before we start, do you have a preference of occupation, Willow Earthenborn?"

"No, this is a test, I will qualify for what I qualify and I will do what I need to do to make the Queen proud." Willow said softly.

"Admirable answer, now-"she broke off, looking inquiringly at the man in the gray cloak at the far end of the desk. He stood and handed the woman a note before regaining his seat. She scanned the note quickly. "Are you sure, Hama?"

"Indeed my lady. It is without any doubt." Hama said in a clear, sure voice that was oddly calming.

"Very well, Willow, you will spend the night in a room prepared for you, and then you will report to the hickory clearing on the west side. As all apprentices have specific outfits that pertain to their craft, yours will be waiting on your dresser in the morning. You will meet the Ranger in the clearing at exactly 8:30. Good night."

As Willow left the room she looked for the man in the gray cloak but he had disappeared. She was exhausted from the day's events and one last thought came to her before she was swept into darkness, "What did that note say?"


	3. Chapter 3

The Beginning

When Willow woke up the next morning she didn't feel like getting out of bed yet and she noticed, by the sun, that it wasn't quite time to meet the Hama. She watched the light filter through the curtains while she wondered what the Ranger could possibly want with her. A gong sounded through the halls, telling everyone that the day had started. As she came up with no answers to her questions, she sighed and slid out of bed. She walked over to her dresser to see her trade. On the dresser there sat a silvery tunic and a long grey cloak, soft leathery boots and, she found this strange, a simple silver necklace. Shrugging, she quickly dressed. In a few minutes she was moving swiftly and silently toward the western clearing. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. She whirled but saw no one, deciding it must have been her imagination; she shrugged it off and started on again.

"Funny how people seldom look up, isn't it?" A voice said above her.

She tuned again and this time looked up, it was Hama.

"First lesson, _never _shrug off a feeling, almost all of the time your feeling is correct." He said quietly, over his shoulder as he walked off.

"Wait," She called to him. "I have a question!"

He turned to her, eyes already saying, 'oh, that's a surprise'.

"Who am I apprenticed to? I don't recognize the craft from the clothes." Willow asked. But…"

"Me," He said simply.

Willow was shocked. "You? But I didn't even know a person could be a ranger apprentice."

"There hasn't been. It's been almost a decade since one was chosen." Hama said as they came into a clearing. A small house, more like a hut stood there. Hama strode over to it and opened the door to let them in. He gestured to a chair and she sat down. He took the seat opposite her, "Before I start training, any more questions?"

"Yes." Willow said. "What are Rangers?"

"Interesting question, I expected you to have one, Rangers are naturally inquisitive. However, I'll let you decide the answer to your question." Hama said. "Now to start, apprentices have duties, you know."

"Yes sir."

"I would like you to sweep the house, fetch water from the stream and cut firewood for tonight. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

Though Willow as upset that the first two duties were girlish and she had been afraid that he would treat her like a delicate, fragile girl. But he had assured her with the third task he had set her too; many girls would not be able to cut firewood. She found an empty barrel in front of the house and decided that it would be easier to fill up the barrel instead of running to the stream every time the bucket ran out. When she filled up the barrel, only taking fifteen trips to the stream, she took the axe from beside the small pile of big logs and began to chop the logs into halves and put them into a tidy pile. Hama came out while she was working and remarked on her idea of using the barrel for water to save less labor for later. When her duties were finished, Hama called her to have dinner, rabbit stew. As they ate the subject turned to Rangers.

"So what is it that Ranger's do exactly?" Willow asked.

Hama thought for a minute before answering. "We protect the kingdom. Many history books describe us as elite, agile, sorcerer warriors. But are no sorcerers. True we are swift climbers and silent as shadows but it is not sorcery. We can do some magic but it is for healing purposes only."

"I can do magic?" Willow asked confused.

"Yes and no." He said and as Willow still looked confused said, "It depends on what your opinion of magic is. If it is the magic of good or evil that you read about in books, no. If it is the simple art of producing healing energy, yes."

"So do we use spells and things like that? Or do we just think about it and it happens? Oh, do we use weapons like the queens guards? I remember a lot of people wanted to be a guard-"

"Whoa, slow down." Hama held up his hands to stop her talking. "Now it's getting late and I'm sure that after your duties you're pretty tired. If you remember all of your questions tomorrow, I might be able to answer them then. Now, your bedroom, second door or the left and don't mess everything up in the room."

As soon as she walked into the room her immediate thought was, home. It wasn't stylish or especially huge, which she liked, it was quite small and quaint. She looked out the window at the moon and breathed in the forest air. It was just like home.


End file.
